


The Girl That Ran With Monsters

by xFictionalDesiresx



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: AU, F/M, Human Caroline, Vampire Stefan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 15:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5876845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xFictionalDesiresx/pseuds/xFictionalDesiresx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caroline Forbes has been labelled many things, crazy never being one of them. But now, she finds herself constrained to her hospital bed, muttering on about the new boy. She knows they don’t believe her and she knows they never will, but she saw what she saw and she knows what she knows. Stefan Salvatore is a vampire</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Girl That Ran With Monsters

Ever since she was a little girl Caroline Forbes has always had a way of getting lost in the world of fiction. It was on a rare occasion that she would be found without a book open in front of her, or one tucked underneath her arm for later light reading. Being the Sherriff’s daughter came with consequences, loneliness being the worst, leaving her to spend countless nights tucked up in bed alone. So, in the comfort of a rain storm, she travelled down the hall to her mother’s bookshelf and spent the most part of the night delving into the world of adventure and fantasy. Finding a friend in the hour of darkness.  It had been the same routine ever since.

Of course, just as any other little girl would, her love fell to the princesses. The stories of castle’s and dresses and balls and handsome prince’s who would save their damsel and complete their happily ever after. One day she hoped that this would be her, the one being swept away to a fancy land with a charming boy on her arm. It was her every birthday wish. But as she grew older she realised that those stories would remain just that, stories, elements of fiction, something that could never be real. It never stopped her from wishing, though.

Despite the instant attraction to the sparkles and the happiness that was the world of fantasy, she was fully aware of the monsters. Creatures of the night that lurked in the forest, the ones that hid under your bed, the dead that fed on humans and the humans that fed on the dead. Tales of curses and witches and fangs and claws and everything else in between.  

Often she found herself, at the exact stroke of midnight, cowering against the pillows and clutching the blanket until her fingers were as white as the snow outside. Images of evil and destruction filling her young mind with things that that far worse than anything she could have imagined. It was at the age of six that she decided to stop reading these stories, her mother decided there had been too many nightmares.

But little did young Caroline Forbes know that the world was much bigger than words written on a page.

For her, the nightmares were only the beginning.

The room is plain, too plain for a lover of all colours, the walls being washed over with a simple light grey. She would have opted to demand them to change it and splash on a little yellow to compliment her personality. But now she thinks the grey is more relevant. A cold breeze flows from corner to corner, raising the hairs on her arm, despite the only window in the room being bolted shut. Her bed is placed slightly off centre and the control freak in her screams at her to move it. She never does. The drab black and grey blankets that lie over the mattress are enough to distract her from the unparallel positioning, almost.

Her heartbeat is loud as it echoes around the room. _  
_

_Thud thud thud._

It’s weaker than it usually is, but it’s still there. Maybe by some miracle but yes, it’s still there.

She sits on the tiled floor, legs hugged to her chest and back leaning against the wall, staring at the small wooden chair placed by the opposite wall. Idly her fingers trace the edge of her fully loaded plate as she stares. Ignoring the now cold mountain of food in front of her as she becomes distracted by the broken chair leg. It’s slightly slanted to the right and has chipping all the way down its side. Without really thinking she drags her hand up underneath her gown and strokes her thigh softly. She still can’t find all of the splinters.

The door opening next to her disorientates her a little, the extreme light being something she is not used to.

“Caroline” a soft voice calls out.

She doesn’t respond.

“It’s just me, Penny, your doctor. It’s okay”

Eventually, she raises her head, just enough to peek at the woman in front of her. She’s young, but not too young, probably somewhere in her thirties. The bags under her eyes indicating so. Her white coat flows down to the floor and she can’t help but think that they have chosen this colour scheme on purpose.

It’s like they want you to feel depressed.

“How are you doing?” she asks moving towards her ever so slightly. Her hands rise in front of her as she tip toes into the room, never straying from the back wall as she goes.

There is still no response.

Penny smiles sadly at the blonde curled up on the floor and makes her way to sit on the only chair in the room. She looks down towards the chipped wood and stops herself from sitting down completely, her body snapping up straight as an instinctive reaction.  They wouldn’t want a repeat of last time.

“You haven’t eaten anything” she says nodding her head down towards the untouched plate of food, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Not hungry” Caroline replies, her head hung low and her eyes scanning the floor. Counting the floor tiles as become her new pass time.    
Her voice is quiet and void of any emotion. She can barely feel her jaw move to form the words. Sometimes she can’t even tell if the words actually managed to come out of her mouth.

“Do you want to try later?”

She shakes her head.

It’s then that Penny decides to give up as she walks towards the window and draws the grey curtain shut, any remaining light engulfed by darkness.

Caroline screams.

“NO”

Her head snaps up and her heart pounds in her own ears. If it’s even possible her body curls further into itself as she becomes a ball withering in the corner. Her eyes are bloodshot and it’s not rocket science to tell she hasn’t slept in days.

“Oh yes, I forgot. The Vampires are only able to attack in the dark.” Penny shakes her head, sympathy dripping off every word.

“OPEN THEM” Caroline shouts finding the closest object, one of her old shoes, and throws it in her nurse’s direction.

It gracefully bounces off the wall and flies straight towards Penny, hitting her just below the waist.

It startles her and she finally obliges whipping open the curtains and letting the light flow back through the room. It didn’t make much of an improvement but it meant she was safe.  

Caroline breathes, closing her eyes and trying her best to get her breath back on track “Good, that’s good” Her head falls back down into place as she re-begins to count the cracks on the floor. “You can go now”

Giving up, her doctor collects her plate and heads towards the door, turning back around just before she leaves.

“Oh before I get why I came in here” she takes one more step outside for precaution. “You have a visitor”

Caroline’s eyes brows rise in interest but she doesn’t move. With the exception of her mother, she never gets visitors. The whole town has deemed her crazy. It’s not that hard to have someone locked up when her moms the sheriff. Just a few lectures of “you are supposed to be protecting this town” and she will go behind her own daughters back to have her sent away to 24 hour confinement. It’s not the lack of communication and the loss of freedom that bother her. It’s the treatment and all that _testing_. The daily pokes and prods and therapy sessions and the constant mumbling from doctors that she needs more time and she will never recover.

Most days she feels like screaming, running down the white-walled corridors and proclaiming that she is not crazy. But somehow, she thinks that will have the opposite effect.

The door opens again and this time it’s a lot slower than before.

Caroline lifts her head gently to see it now fully open, the light seeping back through, but yet the door way remains clear. Her interest is now grabbed, if it was her mother she would have just walked right in, same with any of the doctors. Even when she didn’t want to see them they waltzed in any way.

She waited in silence. Breathing, _in and out in and out_.

She could hear feet rustling on the stone floor outside and fingers tapping on the base of a thigh covered jean. It’s amazing how good your hearing becomes when you all you have to do in here is listen.

There a slight movement, a shadow forming on the opposite wall, before the figure pauses.

Now she is concerned. No one she knows would wait this long to enter.  
Maybe it’s Bonnie, she thinks. Or Elena, or even Matt. Ever since the incident they have refrained from talking to her, that being a nicer word than they were demanded not to by their stuck up parents. Maybe, just maybe, they decided to break the rules and be good friends, finally coming to see if she was okay.

Deep down she knew she would never hurt them and she hoped they knew that too.

The shadow finally disappears and the visitor walks into the room.

Her question is finally answered but it’s not the answer she wants.

The guest is a boy, around 17, and is tall and has perfectly groomed hair that stands up just right. He is skinny, yet lean and every inch of exposed skin is flawless. The position of hands in pockets and eyebrows furrowed and broody is unmistakable to her. He’s shy and he’s nervous and he’s cautious and _he’s him._

Standing right in front of her, in clear daylight, is the reason she is in here.

Her eyes widen and her breath is back to rapid in and outs as she jumps up from the comfort of the floor and presses herself against the wall, seeking an exit.

She opens her mouth to speak but he beats her to it.

“Caroline” he says, voice calm and gentle.

“G-Get out” she stutters. It was supposed to be screamed but the sheer terror swallowed it up.

He takes a step towards her with his hands raised in front of him and his eyes casting a warming glow. “Hey, Caroline listen please”

With one large breath, she finally gains her voice back.

“NO”

“It’s okay I’m not going to...”

“JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME”

He takes another step forward. “Please”

“LEAVE ME ALONE”

Before he can lean forward and calm her down, she has slipped away from in front of him and begins to charge for the opposite wall. It registers to him a lot later than it should, the snapping of the wooden leg, the swoosh of her turning back towards him quickly. He turns to face her, only to find a makeshift stake plunged into his side. He almost refrains a groan but can’t help the wine that slips from his lips.

She is already at the back of the room by the time he pulls out the wood and manages to gain enough strength to stand up straight, leaning to the side a little whilst the wound heals. He raises his head to find her stood up tall, arm out in front protectively, another wooden leg wrapped tightly in her hand.  

He sighs as he moves his foot forward.

“No” she calls “You stay there” a finger lifts to stop his movements.

He obliges and stays in place, glad that now her voice is a volume that doesn’t hurt his sensitive senses.

“Caroline”

“Will you stop saying my name?”

“It’s okay”

She shakes her head and laughs, he can’t quite tell if it’s crazy or sarcastic. But he does know she is not going to be easy.

It’s okay? Are you seriously saying that right now”

Stefan’s eyebrows furrow. “I’m not going to hurt you”

“You killed my _friend_ , you put me in a mental hospital, how is that okay?” It surprises her that she is even able to say those words. After 3 months of silence it still hurts like a fresh wound.

“I will explain everything you just have to give me a chance to” As he speaks he takes his own chance, shuffling forward an inch that was barely noticeable. She didn’t react like last time, only raising her stake a little higher to warn him.

“Just say it first”

He tilts his head confused “say what”

“You know what, JUST SAY IT” her voice raises again and the wooden weapon inches that little bit closer.

“I’m Stefan Salvatore” he admits.

She rolls her eyes and he knows that that was not the answer she was looking for “Not that”

“Then what. Just tell me. I will say anything in order to make you listen”

“Tell me what you are”

It’s like a revelation that washes over him as his head lifts up and his hands bury back in his pockets.

“You already know”

“But I want YOU to say it. I want you to hear it come out of your mouth”

“Caroline, I don’t see how that will hel...”

“JUST SAY IT” she screams, throwing the steak on the bed and charging for him, hands pushing down on his shoulders as her face comes closer to his. From this angle he can see the tears starting to glide down her face. “JUST TELL ME OKAY”

Another jab on his shoulders.

“TELL ME THAT THIS ISN’T A DREAM”

_Push._

“TELL ME THAT”

_Push._

“I’M...tell me that I’m not crazy”

Her voice becomes softer as she finishes, tears finally overtaking her strength.    
He knows it’s crazy, but he places his hands over hers that rest on his shoulders. He dips his head to stare right in her eyes and breathes slowly, making her do the same.

“Caroline are you ready for this. Are you ready for everything you know to change?”

She looks at him and nods “I just need to know that this is real”

He repeats her nod, understanding that this is everything to her. That she needs to hear it. She needs to be told she is not what they think she is. That the incident wasn’t her fault, it was his. She needs to hear that _she is not crazy._

“I am Stefan Salvatore and I am a vampire”

Silence ripples through the room and she thinks it’s even quieter now than it is when she is by herself. Her head falls and she breaks away from his hold and walks back to the wall, picking up her steak and sliding her back down it until she reaches the floor.

Stefan smiles softly and joins her, sitting in front of her with his legs cross and his hands joined on his lap.

“Now” he begins watching her as she stares at nothing in particular, trying to get her head around things “let’s start from the beginning”

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not really sure how this story came to be but I really liked the idea so I went with it! Of course this is just a setup chapter and the other chapters will have much more Stefan/Caroline interaction. I really like this dynamic and can't wait to write it! Would love you to let me know what you think as I am still not too sure on this. Hope you enjoyed.


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